Sea combat
Combat commences when the player encounters pirates at sea, or has arrived at a hostile port. The player's fleet and the pirate fleet face off in naval combat and fire cannonballs at each other with the goal to annihilate the other fleet. The player wins if they manage to destroy every opposing enemy. If the player wins, they are rewarded with a cash bonus roughly proportionate to the strength of the pirate fleet. The player loses if all of their own ships are destroyed. This also causes them to lose the game and they must restart from a save. Alternatively, if the player is presented with a pirate fleet they would rather not battle, they can attempt to flee from the fight. When the flee command is given, the player's ships will attempt to sail and exit off the right part of the screen. However, they will not fire their cannons while fleeing and the enemy will continue to fire at them, resulting in potentially heavy losses even if the flee is successful. No reward is given for successfully fleeing. Tradewinds In Tradewinds, combat unfolds in a turn-based manner, the player can run or fight in one turn and then the enemy will attack the next turn. Combat ends when all of the ships in the pirate's fleet or the player's are sunk. If the player loses all of their ships the game also ends. Tradewinds 2 Unlike its predecessor, ''Tradewinds 2'' features real-time combat, where ships fire their cannons once reloaded, and cannonballs take time to travel to the enemy's ship. To commence the battle, the player must click on an enemy ship to order their ship to attack it. The player can switch targets any time during battle, if multiple enemies are present. Special Ammunition Any time during battle, the player can also choose to fire off special ammunition to deal additional damage. The player has limited stock of special ammo per battle but can purchase more at a shipyard. Once ordered, the special ammo replaces the next cannon shot fired. Tradewinds Legends Like Tradewinds 2, combat in Tradewinds Legends is performed in real-time. To commence the battle, the player must click on an enemy ship to order all of their own ships to attack it. Alternatively, one of the three commands below can be given to initiate the battle: *Fire at Strongest (All ships aim for the strongest opponent) *Fire at Weakest (All ships aim for the weakest opponent) *Fire at Will (Your ships fire randomly at all opponents) These commands can also be given any time during combat to order your ships to change offensive tactics. Magic Curses If the player owns Magic Curses, they can also use them at any time during battle, even before the battle has commenced. Using a Magic Curse will not begin combat; only a direct order to open cannon fire will. If Magic Curses are ordered before battle, they will only be cast once battle begins. Magic Curses are fired from one of the player's ships to the targeted enemy ship. Unlike cannon fire, Magic Curses are guaranteed to hit their intended target. Magic Curses inflict damage on the targeted enemy ship. They also cause the enemy ship to be less effective in combat (with the exception of the Wrath of Djinn, which only does damage), and can potentially turn the tide of the battle or simply come out of it with more acceptable losses.Category:Gameplay